Amber Heard ‘has less than 10 minutes of screen time in Aquaman sequel’

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Amber Heard will reportedly have less than ten minutes of screen time in the upcoming Aquaman sequel, according to a film journalist.

The actress, 36, who stars as Mera in the franchise, is currently embroiled in a multi-million-dollar defamation trial with her former partner Johnny Depp.

Film journalist Grace Randolph, who is known for comic book movie scoops, has claimed fans won’t be seeing as much of her in the sequel Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, which is due for release in March 2023.

Claims of her reduced screen time come in the wake of a petition calling for her to be dropped from the film reached two million signatures. 

It is not known if Amber’s role in the sequel was always intended to be small or if her screen time was reduced in the wake of her legal battle with Johnny Depp.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Warner Bros. and Amber Heard for comment. 

Johnny was dropped by Disney in his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean after Amber alleged he had domestically abused her, which she has denied.

Now more than two million people have signed a petition calling for Amber to lose her role Princess Mera in Aquaman as it emerged she allegedly domestically abused the actor.

Johnny told the court this week he was shocked when Disney dropped him from the franchise four days after The Washington Post published an op-ed by Amber in which she said she had been a victim of domestic abuse, without naming him.

Jeanne Larson, who started the petition, said Amber had been ‘exposed as a domestic abuser’ and canceling her appearance in Aquaman 2 would prevent her alleged abuse being glamorized.

She said: ‘Amber Heard has been exposed as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp.

‘In his lawsuit, Johnny Depp describes many incidents of domestic abuse that he suffered at the hands of his (then) wife Amber Heard, including one incident where she punched him twice in the face and another where she shattered his finger with a vodka bottle, and his finger had to be surgically reattached.

‘He will bear the scar from that for the rest of his life.

‘Also, Amber Heard was arrested in 2009 for abusing a former domestic partner, Tasya Van Ree, demonstrating a repeated pattern of abuse by Amber Heard.

‘Since Heard’s divorce from Johnny Depp, she has systematically crusaded to ruin Depp in Hollywood, repeating multiple accounts of fake incidents in which she had actually abused Johnny Depp, but lied and created false accounts of him being the abuser.

‘About the incident during which she shattered the bones in Johnny Depp’s finger and nearly severed it, causing Depp to require surgery to reattach and repair it.

‘They must not ignore the suffering of Heard’s victims, and must not glamorize a domestic abuser.

‘Men are victims of domestic abuse, just like women. This must be recognized, and action must be taken to prevent a known abuser from being celebrated within the entertainment industry.

‘Do the right thing. Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2.’

Meanwhile, a former agent for Johnny testified Wednesday that Amber’s abuse allegations had a ‘traumatic impact’ on Johnny’s image, and cost him the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise. 

Christian Carino, a talent agent at Creative Artists Agency, appeared by video deposition at Johnny’s defamation trial, which has been taking place in Fairfax, Virginia, since April 11.

According to his contract that was submitted into evidence during the defamation trial, Johnny earned $25million for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Carino testified that it became clear, though conversations with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and CAA co-chair Bryan Lourd, that Disney had decided it could not continue to employ Johnny.

Carino said that the abuse claims were never openly discussed as the reason, but that it was simply ‘understood’ within the industry.

Carino was friends with both Amber and Johnny, and represented both of them at various points, though he said he no longer has a relationship with either of them.

He testified that Johnny is ‘one of the finest actors of his generation,’ and that has not changed despite the turmoil of his life in recent years. But he also said that the lawsuits — with his former business manager, his former attorney, and with Amber — have damaged Johnny’s off-screen image.

‘I think what he was known for off-screen was a shroud of mystery of who he was, because he was not visible to the public,’ Carino said. ‘It changed with the exposure that came with the lawsuits.’

Carino was asked about the production of the fifth ‘Pirates’ movie, in 2015, and acknowledged that Depp was routinely late to set.

‘I’m aware of him being tardy, but he’s been tardy on everything his entire life,’ Carino said, adding that the production had figured out how to work around the issue.

Carino was vague about when Disney decided not to hire Depp for a potential sixth ‘Pirates’ movie, which remains in limbo, saying at first that he could not specify even the year when it occurred.

The timing of that decision is a key issue in the case. Johnny’s lawyers contend that it came just days after Heard published an op-ed, on December 18, 2018, in which she referred to herself as a ‘public figure representing domestic abuse.’

Amber’s lawyers argue that the decision was actually made earlier.

Johnny’s lawyers presented Carino with an email chain from December 20, 2018, in which Depp’s agents and publicist passed around a MovieWeb article that stated that Depp ‘won’t return’ to the franchise.

Carino wrote: ‘Were we told this officially from Disney?’

Jack Whigham, another agent, responded: ‘No.’

On Monday Johnny told the court he was surprised and felt ‘betrayed’ Disney dropped him after Heard’s allegations in the Washington Post.

He said: ‘I didn’t quite understand how after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship certainly for Disney that suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent.’

But Johnny said that ultimately he soured on Disney and felt that there was ‘a very deep and distinct sense of having been betrayed.’

Amber first leveled her allegations in May 2016, when she filed for divorce and sought a restraining order.

The restraining order was later dropped and the couple issued a joint statement in which they stated that neither had made false claims for financial gain.

Earlier on Wednesday, jurors saw video depositions with two LAPD officers and a front desk employee who works at the Eastern Columbia Building, where Johnny used to own several penthouses.

The officers were called to the penthouses on May 21, 2016, for a report of domestic violence.

Amber refused to make a report and the officers testified they saw no evidence of injury.